3rd century BC
(4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - other centuries)
(2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD)
Events:
- The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean
- Rome conquers Spain
- Great Wall of China begun
- Indian traders regularly visited Arabia
- Scythians occupy Sogdiana, in modern-day Uzbekistan.
- Mencius, Chinese philosopher and sage ( 371 - 289 BC).
- Euclid, mathematician (c. 365 - 275 BC).
- The Ptolemaic dynasty rules Egypt
- Ptolemy I Soter (305 BC-282 BC) and his wifes Eurydice and Berenice I.
- Ptolemy II Philadelphos (284 BC-246 BC) and his wifes Arsinoe I and Arsinoe II Philadelphos.
- Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246 BC-222 BC) and his wife Berenice II.
- Ptolemy IV Philopater (222 BC-204 BC) and his wife Arsinoe III.
- Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204 BC-180 BC) and his wife Cleopatra I.
- Archimedes of Syracuse, mathematician, physicist, and engineer (c. 287 - 212 BC).
- Apollonius of Perga, mathematician (c. 262 - 190 BC).
- Qin Shi Huang Di, Chinese Emperor ( 259 - 210 BC, reigned 246 - 210 BC).
- Hannibal, military leader of Carthage ( 247 - 182 BC).
- Eratosthenes accurately calculates diameter of the Earth